Buffy in the Dark
by Ilse M Jupnur
Summary: Buffy takes a trip to New York to visit the new Slayer school located there. And it's a good thing she did; all those strange new creatures sprouting up in central park aren't going to slay themselves. *Reviews are nice, you should give them*


**This takes place shortly after season 7 of Buffy, and during Alone in the Dark: Inferno.**

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Buffy could not believe her first trip to New York would end like this. She pushed a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. She could taste blood from her busted lip.

_'What a lovely day in the park. Death, Blood, Violence…'_ Never mind, she **could** believe her first trip to New York was like this.

She'd enjoyed the beginning of the day. She started off her trip by getting business done with. She stopped at the new Slayer school located just outside of central park. She had a few quick conversations with young and curious slayers, dropped off her luggage, and then booked it out of there to go sightseeing. Before she realized it, it was dusk. The magical time of the day. She headed back to the park, part of her wanting to take in the beauty, part of her knowing she shouldn't get herself too lost the first day, and part of her itching for a good fight. The last one she refused to admit to herself.

She only got the last.

It wasn't long after she reached the park that the ground started to shake. Buffy had gotten used to earthquakes, but this was something different. This was something alive. The city quickly delved into chaos. Buffy instinctively went to slayer mode. She jumped from spot to spot, avoiding the failing ground, and ran towards the screams. She was a protector after all.

Before she reached the jumbled mess of crying voices, a dark figure lumbered into her direct path. Her slayer senses went wild and she grabbed a stake that was neatly tucked on the inside of her coat. The figure took two more tentative steps towards Buffy before going into a full run. She quickly sidestepped him, and grabbed the back of his head. His neck made a sickening cracking sound as his body flew out from under him. When he came to a stop, lying on the ground, Buffy got a clear look at him.

Large fissure like cracks ran across his face and body. They appeared to be like open, bloody scars. Buffy held back her gag reflex as she took in the sight.

_'It's been a while since I've had this strong of a response to the big bads of the world. …That's a sad thought.'_

Before she could examine him further, he began to stir. Buffy didn't know what he was capable of, and decided best to get rid of him while he was down. Plus she didn't have any clever slayer banter cooked up yet. Before he raised his arm, her stake was through his heart.

He stopped only momentarily before he lunged again at her. She did a backwards roll into a standing fight stance. As she fully regained her composure, she saw a bright burst of fire. Her opponent made a death cry and dissolved into a cloud of smoke. She was used to enemies disappearing into a poof, but usually that happened immediate after staking. Once the smoke cleared, she recognized the outline of an unknown man standing there.

"Only fire kills them. You'd be best to get yourself out of here."

And then he was off._ 'Way to look like a damsel in distress. Go Buffy.'_ She dusted herself off, and went in search of flammable items. It was going to be a long night. She noticed more fissures crawling across the ground around her, but her speed kept her out of their reach. Soon she found herself in possession of a lighter and a few spray cans - good enough for a makeshift flamethrower.

The better part of her night was spent running to the sounds of screaming, flaming some of the living scar people, and trying her best to save the day. _'This is worse than walking into a hellmouth, and that is saying something…'_ She was brought out of her thoughts by another scream. 'And here I go.'

After another few hours, Buffy found herself collapsed in front of a half up heaved tree. She was covered in a mix of dirt and blood, some hers, some not. She was sporting quite a few nasty bruises on her arms, and a long gash on her forehead. Her split lip was becoming quite the nuisance as well. She breathed out a deep sigh. _'At least it should be morning soon.'_ She had a quick battle with her eyelids, but they soon won, and she rested her eyes, her head drooping just a bit.

"I see you stuck around."

Buffy slowly opened her eyes again, blinking away the pain of having to return to higher levels of functioning. Standing in front of her was the man from before. He looked like he went through a pretty tough night as well. _ 'Then again, who didn't at this point.'_

"What can I say, I'm a stubborn one.'

He seamed to smile, but she noticed that it didn't reach his eyes. She couldn't blame him. He was pretty cut up. His hair was messily falling into his face, covering a lot of his features. She did, however, catch sight of the long scar that ran down his face and across his eye. Not the bad kind of scar, just the normal variety. She wondered how it got there, but he spoke again before she started creating stories.

"Most people in this type of situation, do the smart thing and get the fuck away from the death and chaos."

She smiled. He wasn't being bitter, just stating the fact. He cocked an eyebrow, cueing her response. "Well, if everybody ran away, who the hell would help stop the mess." A short "humph" was the only answer she received.

She started to stand when her side shot out in pain. She winced and took a short intake of breath. Out of all injuries, she hated broken ribs the most. She started to stand again when she felt an arm around her waist, helping her up.

"Thanks."

"You're going to need to get yourself looked at."

She laughed, a genuine laugh this time. Most of her injuries would clear up in a day or so on their own. They just served as a pain in the ass right now.

"Yeah, I guess. You should follow the same advice." She looked him over again. While none of his injuries seemed life threatening, he had some pretty nasty gashes. She got another "humph". _'What a great conversationalist…'_ She gave him a half smile in return. "I'm staying at a place near here. There's medical supplies there. Assuming it's still standing that is. It seems to have died down, I think we can make it."

There was an awkward silence as he seemed to weigh the decision. "I'm Buffy, by the way."

"Edward."

She started to walk forward, but soon realized he wasn't following. She turned around and gave him a silent look clearing asking, 'are you coming or not.' She got no response. "Look, its better to travel together, strength in numbers, watch each other's backs and all that. You can fight, I can fight. It's all of the good…"

"The last woman I traveled with was possessed by Lucifer."

She noticed his face turn stone cold, and she could tell it was bothering him so much that he was beginning to shut down. _'Obviously its bothering him, geez Buffy, think before you…think. Now I'm scolding myself. Brilliant.'_

"I need to go through this alone." He turned away from her. Before he took the next step, she responded.

"The last guy I was with turned to dust sacrificing himself to destroy a hell mouth and stop an apocalypse."

He turned back to her. Sincerity was written across her face. The was another pause, but this one wasn't as awkward. They both registered their loss, and in a brief second they locked eyes, understanding each other's pain. After a few more moments, he began to walk towards her.

"Lets hope this place is still standing."

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**Alright, so I don't own jack-shit. No Buffy, no Alone in the Dark, nothing. This is all for funsies, written at three in the morning just for kicks. Hope you enjoyed. You should probably review or something. Yeah.  
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